Ubuntu 12.04 Desktop and Software CentreOn Thursday, Canonical launched the latest free operating system, Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - that's long-term support with maintenance updates guaranteed for five years. This version, codenamed Precise Pangolin (it's a type of armadillo) makes the strongest bid yet to oust Microsoft Windows and Mac-OS as the consumer desktop of choice.

Canonical is also pitching to organizations facing expensive upgrades to Windows 7 or 8. 12.04 also includes support for desktop virtualisation from Citrix and VMware, or Microsoft RDP 7.1, so there is a choice of remote delivery of desktop applications, browser-based cloud solutions like Google Docs or the free Libre Office suite bundled with this release.

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